(Sybil’s POV)With a resigned sigh, I decided that I should answer John’s call. I knew that he would just keep trying to reach me otherwise, so it was best to just get this over with. “Hi, John,” I said, trying to hide my annoyance.“My driver says that he dropped you off at your apartment,” he said, getting right to the point of his phone call without bothering with a greeting.“What’s wrong with that?” I asked. Then I remembered that Alex had been able to see the contents of my plastic bag. Had John’s driver seen the pregnancy tests, too? If he had, would he have told John? I certainly wouldn’t volunteer any information. I would just wait and see if John brought it up. Then and only then would I tell him that the tests were negative.“You didn’t get a physical,” he said, “Mark just told me.”“It completely slipped both of our minds. We got to talking about Charlie, and then Mark had a difficult patient to deal with.” I rolled my eyes, wishing he would just leave me alone. I was more
(Sybil’s POV)I felt bad that Alex was stuck having to stay with Willa. I could tell that he was highly displeased with this, as was Willa, so I tried once more to reason with John as we walked closer toward the hospital. “John, as I keep trying to tell you, I don’t need you or anyone else to accompany me during my physical. I’m a big girl, I can handle it on my own.”He just kept pulling me along, refusing to listen to me.I tried to stop him from moving, but to no avail. “John, Willa needs you more than I do right now. Why don’t you go back to her? If you really are concerned about leaving me alone for this, Alex is here. He could stay with me.”At the mention of Alex’s name, John moved his arm from my shoulders to my waist. He squeezed me much tighter.I knew then that I was stuck with him. I gave up on trying to get him to let me go by myself. Anyway, we had reached the blood lab at this point, so it was too late to get rid of him.He sat beside me as the nurse prepared to draw my
(Sybil’s POV)I was frozen to the spot, still huddled against the wall, even though John was no longer holding me in place. He and Mark were yelling at the other man, who was screaming back at them, waving his bloody knife around. I started feeling dizzy when I saw the knife, and quickly looked away, crouching down.Just then the hospital security showed up, having been alerted about the man with the knife. They grabbed the man and took his knife away. John turned his attention back to me and held out his right hand. I took it and he pulled me back up, somewhat awkwardly. I wondered why he didn’t just use both hands, when I noticed a tiny blood stain on his left sleeve, on the upper arm. “John, you’re hurt!” I exclaimed, trying to take a closer look at his wound.He turned away slightly, so I wouldn’t see the blood. “It’s not that bad, Sybil. Just a small cut. Don’t worry about it.” He tried to smile at me, but ended up grimacing with pain, making me think that it was much worse tha
(John’s POV)Despite the pain in my arm from both the wound and the doctor stitching it up, I felt much better with Sybil snuggled against me, her body so warm and soft as I held her tightly with my good arm. I could tell that our closeness had a positive effect on her as well, because she shivered with pleasure when I whispered in her ear.When she agreed to do as I asked and departed for Charlie’s room, I saw the look of jealousy that Alex gave me before following her out. I hoped that seeing us like that made him realize that I would never give her up, and that he was a fool if he thought that she would ever be interested in him. The feeling of immense satisfaction that this gave me was even better than the painkiller I had just taken.After they left, the doctor finished stitching me up and bandaged my arm. “All done! You’re good to go,” he said, smiling.“Thank you,” I said, then he left.Willa and I were alone. I turned and looked at her. “How are you feeling?”She blushed. “I’m
(Sybil’s POV)I couldn’t keep myself from shaking as I left John in the emergency room and made my way to Charlie’s room. The incident played in my head over and over, no matter how much I tried to forget it. I was sure that the angry man’s face would be etched on my memory for the rest of my life.Alex followed me, concern evident on his face. “Sybil, are you okay?”“I was just thinking about what happened. I was really scared, Alex.” I gulped.“Yeah, that must have been awful.” He pulled me into a bear hug. “Can I get you anything? Maybe some water?”“Water would be good, thanks.” I nodded. “I’ll meet you in Charlie’s room.”“Coming right up.” Alex walked away.I walked the rest of the way to Charlie’s room. When I got there, I saw that he was still asleep, so I sat down in the chair near his bed.My mind once again drifted to the moment when I realized that John had been stabbed. He was incredibly fortunate that his wound wasn’t that serious. He had needed a lot of stitches, but it
(Sybil’s POV)It didn’t take very long for Alex to return with the doctor from the emergency room. The doctor examined John. “I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said after checking John’s blood pressure, “I’ve seen this sort of thing happen before. The blood loss that you sustained, not to mention the sudden pain that you experienced when you were stabbed, can cause your heart rate and blood pressure to go down. Just make sure that you stay hydrated. You should probably eat something as well, to avoid low blood sugar.” He smiled reassuringly. “If the dizziness persists, come back to see me.”“Thank you.” John was already starting to look a bit better, though he was still weak. I knew that it probably helped him a lot, at least psychologically, to know that there was a reason for the way he was feeling, and that something could be done about it.After the doctor left, Mark came to see us. “How are you holding up, John?” he asked.“I’m a bit dizzy, but that’s apparently normal.” John smile
(Sybil’s POV)“Sybil, you promised to stay with me,” John said again, tugging insistently at my arm, “I really want you to stay here.”“Don’t worry, I’m not leaving. I’ll be right back.” I smiled and shook my head at how clingy he was being. It usually bothered me when he behaved in such a possessive way, but I could tell that this was different. He was acting just like a child who needed comfort and reassurance. It was endearing, in a way. “I’m just going to get you some water. You have to stay hydrated, remember?”He reluctantly let go of me. “Okay, but hurry back.”I went downstairs, wondering what I had gotten myself into. It was the middle of the afternoon, and I had promised John that I would stay with him overnight. I was prepared to fulfill my promise, but I didn’t want to run into his mother. She hadn’t even crossed my mind when I had agreed to this, but now, as I walked toward the kitchen, I knew that there was a chance that I would have to face her. Maybe if I got John’s
(Sybil’s POV)Panicking, I grabbed my phone right away and called Mark. After what seemed like an eternity, I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard his voice. “Mark,” I said after we got the usual greetings out of the way, “John has a fever. I just checked, and he’s really hot to the touch. What should I do?”His voice was calm and comforting. “It sounds to me like he has a minor infection. The best thing to do is to give him something to control his fever, like aspirin, and put a cool, wet cloth on his forehead. Keep him hydrated, of course. I’m sure he’ll be fine after sleeping it off. If not, call me back.”“Thanks, I’ll do all of that.” After we said our goodbyes and hung up, I set about gathering all of the things that Mark had told me would help bring down John’s fever.John took the pills when I handed them to him. As I sat down on the side of the bed to place a cold compress on his forehead, he reached up with his good hand and lightly brushed my fingers. “Come and lie down b